Gen3 revlimiter Gauges

This is a blog post I’ve wanted to write for the last three years since I learned about the tech I’m now using. I’m SUPER excited to finally be in this place with my business that I can unveil this.

Generation 3 revlimiter Gauges now exist!!!

Sharka’s new Gen3 JNC gauges.

This is what I’ve been doing with myself for the past month or longer. My blogging and online posting has suffered. I’ve gone weeks without much instagram presence. I’ve not been around much at home either. But… it was for a good cause.

Gen3 gauges!!!

So what the heck does Gen3 mean?

My 3rd Generation revlimiter Gauges are made in a completely different way than the thousands of Gen2 and Gen2.5 gauges made between 2012 and 2017 (or the handful of Gen1 gauges made in 2011). The previous gauges were a composite material cut by a flat bed cutting robot. I changed materials a few times over the years, but the production was always pretty similar. The gauges were quite delicate and very vivid colors were never possible.

Gen3 gauges are laser cut from aerospace polymer and digitally screen printed to create a dial face that exceeds OEM quality. Using spot color printing, the gauges feature extremely vivid red zones and translucent black warning light areas. They’re also extremely tough and can be cleaned with water or chemicals. They should be pretty world-proof, but time will tell on that one.

Digital screen printing means small changes to the artwork can be done on a special-order basis instead of being locked into an existing physical silkscreen that can’t be easily changed. Sure, a true screen-printed gauge will have a slight edge in quality, but I’d rather be able to do special orders than lock myself into a huge archive of screen prints.

I’m confident when I say these are the best gauges being produced in the world today.

Sharka’s Gen2 JNC Gauges

Gen 2 full cluster

Gen 2 tach

Gen 2 speedo

These are the JNC gauges that Sharka has been wearing for over the past year. They’re quite good and are one of my favorite designs. They feel very harmonious behind the wheel. I’m not in a hurry to change them to a new design.

So since I liked the design so much, it seemed like a no-brainer to do a direct apples-to-apples comparison between the Gen2 and Gen3 gauges.

I tried my best to have the same lighting and same exposure between the swapping gauges in my cluster.

Sharka’s new Gen3 JNC Gauges

Gen 3 full cluster

Gen 3 tach

Gen3 speed

It’s not immediately obvious what the differences are. I’ll try to sum up.

Lighting Comparison

Gen 2 lighting

Gen 3 lighting

These are best compared by clicking on one of the images and then paging back and forth with the image zoom viewer.

The best and brightest lighting I was ever able to achieve was with my Gen2 gauges. The Gen2.5 used a tougher material that showed a bit better colors and was a little more resilient to moisture, but it didn’t allow quite as much light through.

The Gen3 material allows MORE light through than the Gen2!

As I said above, I’m SO happy to finally be able to use this tech and make these gauges. I’ve dreamed of this for at least three years.

My favorite spot.

Let me try to think of a few questions and answer them…

Yes – NC gauges are coming. I needed these tools and the knowledge and experience in their use before I could produce NC gauges. I expect to have some in my store in less than a month.

Yes – NA and NB gauges are here. Anything ordered in the past week or so has been filled with a Gen3 gauge. I have to update ALL of the photos and pages in my store to reflect this. I’ve done a handful of NA gauge pages at the time of this writing.

No – Civic/Suburban/Supra gauges are not out. But they might be in the near future. I’m hoping to be able to expand and fill more clusters besides just Miatas soon.

These look fantastic, Adam. You’re right that it is tough to tell the difference unless you’re looking at them directly next to each other.

Will the NA center indicator be on the list for Gen3 redo? I’d love to have a “more brighter” version than the one I currently have. Maybe I should just hook a buzzer up to the alternator light – as that’s the only one that I’m really concerned about missing while driving. (Hmm…)

That said, the NA dummy light for the battery is worthless. I have a voltmeter in my dash for that very reason. Sharka’s had many bad alternators over the years and I never know when another is on the way out. A buzzer is good, but a voltmeter, though antiquated, really tells you the whole story.

Congrats on reaching a new “level” of product finish. Hard to believe that there was another level but no surprise that you would find it. After reading this I went and sat in my car to look at my guages (gen2) and I find it difficult to believe that the colors could be better and sharper.

Thanks!! Yeah, taking the comparison shots amazed me too. I didn’t realize the difference was that dramatic. The real driving force behind this was to have gauges that would be long lasting throughout the world. UK winters are poison to the Gen2 gauges.

Not all of them. I’m having to re-photograph EVERY gauge design I’ve ever made due to the new materials and finish. In some cases I’m redesigning things. As I do that, I’m updating the pages to have the new Gen3 info.

Hi Adam, I am very empress with the gauges, I bought a “Sunstorm” for my NA last December
when you had your Thanksgiving Sale, anyway the reason why I am writing you is because I
Just bought a ND miata and I am hoping that you will be making those gauges for the ND edition.
Thank you